[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49504-49506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19630]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2009-0097]
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement
for the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed replacement by the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey of the 82-year old Goethals Bridge
across the Arthur Kill between Staten Island, NY, and Elizabeth, NJ.
The FEIS analyzes the potential for impact to the natural, human and
cultural environment of the proposed Goethals Bridge Replacement
Project.
DATES: The review period for the FEIS will close on September 13, 2010.
Comments and related material must either be submitted to our online
docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before September 13, 2010
or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2009-0097 using any one of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(4) Hand Delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of
the
[[Page 49505]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on how to
submit comments.
The First Coast Guard District Bridge Office located at One South
Street, Battery Park Building, New York, NY 10004, will maintain a
printed copy of the FEIS available for inspection or copying between 9
a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions regarding this
notice, call or e-mail Gary Kassof, Bridge Program Manager, First Coast
Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 212-668-7165, e-mail
[email protected]. If you have questions regarding viewing or
submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation
Submitting Comments: If you submit a comment, please include the
docket number for this notice (USCG-2009-0097) and provide a reason for
each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and
material online, or by fax, mail or hand delivery, but please use only
one of these means. We recommend that you include your name and a
mailing address, an e-mail address, or a telephone number in the body
of your document so that we can contact you if we have questions
regarding your submission. All comments received will be posted,
without change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided.
To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov,
click on the ``submit a comment'' box, which will then become
highlighted in blue. In the ``Document Type'' drop down menu select
``Notices'' and insert ``USCG-2009-0097'' in the ``Keyword'' box. Click
``Search'' then click on the balloon shape in the ``Actions'' column.
If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped,
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and
material received during the comment period.
Viewing the Comments and the FEIS: To view the comments and the
FEIS, go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on the ``read comments''
box, which will then become highlighted in blue. In the ``Keyword'' box
insert ``USCG-2009-0097'' and click ``Search.'' Click the ``Open Docket
Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column. If you do not have access to the
Internet, you may view the docket online by visiting the Docket
Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the
Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue,
SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an agreement with the
Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a
Privacy Act, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in
the January 17, 2008 issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Background and Purpose
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority), a
transportation and development agency for the Port of New York and New
Jersey, has proposed replacement of the functionally and physically
obsolete Goethals Bridge that carries I-278 vehicular traffic between
Staten Island, NY, and Elizabeth, NJ. On May 28, 2009 (74 FR 25572),
the USCG made available the Draft EIS (DEIS). Two formal public
meetings were held, on July 8 and 9, 2009, to provide an opportunity
for submittal of oral comments to the USCG; written comments were
accepted by the USCG through July 28, 2009.
Following the close of the public comment period in July 2009, the
Port Authority, the project sponsor, chose the New Alignment South as
its proposed alignment, and the USCG, the lead Federal agency for the
NEPA process, has identified the New Alignment South as the Preferred
Alternative for presentation and evaluation in the FEIS. The Preferred
Alternative comprises a new cable-stayed replacement bridge on an
alignment south of the existing Goethals Bridge, and removal of the
existing bridge following construction of the new bridge. The
replacement bridge would comprise the following elements: Six 12-foot-
wide travel lanes, three on each of two roadway decks (one roadway for
eastbound traffic and one roadway for westbound traffic); a 12-foot-
wide outer shoulder and a 5-foot-wide inner shoulder on each roadway; a
minimum 10-foot-wide sidewalk/bikeway along the northern edge of the
westbound roadway; and a 65-foot-wide central area to be maintained
between the east- and westbound decks to accommodate the towers and
support cables as well as to allow for the provision of mass transit
service, should future conditions warrant inclusion of such service
during the service life of the replacement bridge. Navigational
clearance beneath the new bridge is proposed to be a minimum of 135
feet above mean high water (MHW) at the channel margins; similar to the
current minimum vertical clearance of the existing bridge. The main
piers are proposed to be constructed 900 feet apart, an increase from
the existing horizontal separation of 672 feet; thereby moving all
bridge structure-related hazards further away from the 500-foot wide
federally maintained navigation channel of the Arthur Kill. The
elevation of the two bridge towers is proposed to be 272 feet above
mean sea level (MSL), as compared to the 248 feet above MSL associated
with the existing bridge's truss superstructure.
As a structure over navigable waters of the United States, any
replacement bridge requires a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Bridge Permit
pursuant to the General Bridge Act of 1946 (Title 33 U.S.C. 525-533).
Additionally, the bridge permit would be the major federal action in
this undertaking. The USCG, a component of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), by virtue of its regulatory authority over bridges
across navigable waters of the United States, is the lead Federal
agency for review of potential effects on the human environment,
including historic properties, of the Preferred Alternative, three
alternative alignments for construction and operation of a replacement
bridge, and the No Build alternative. The FEIS was prepared pursuant to
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
This notice is issued under authority of the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(c)); the General Bridge Act of 1946 (Title
33 U.S.C. 525-533); and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 (Section 102(2)(c)), as implemented by the Council on
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), Department
of Homeland Security Directive 023-01, and Coast Guard Commandant
Instruction M16475.1D.
Given the Findings of Adverse Effect on three historic properties
(including the existing Goethals Bridge) and the ongoing development of
a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) as per Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act
[[Page 49506]]
(NHPA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), this notice also serves as
an instrument for integration of the Section 106 Consultation into the
NEPA process, as required under 40 CFR 1505.25(a); as well as 36 CFR
800.2(a)(4), 800.3(b) and 800.8. An MOA for the Preferred Alternative
will be executed in consultation with the New York and New Jersey State
Historic Preservation Offices, and will be completed prior to the
anticipated record of decision (ROD) at the culmination of the NEPA
process.
In accordance with the applicable regulations of the General
Conformity Rule (pursuant to the Clean Air Act; 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
as amended) and given the findings that the estimated annual emission
rates of two pollutants (i.e., CO and NOX) are predicted to
exceed the General Conformity applicability thresholds during the GBR
Project's construction period, this notice also serves as the
instrument to fulfill the 30-day public review requirements for the
General Conformity Determination by the USCG.
Absent new information coming to its attention prior to the
conclusion of the 30-day period, the Coast Guard intends to complete
its ROD and pursue the preferred alternative at that time. The ROD will
identify the environmentally-preferred alternative for the proposed
action and be announced in the Federal Register.
Dated: August 3, 2010.
Hala Elgaaly,
Administrator, Bridge Program, United States Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2010-19630 Filed 8-12-10; 8:45 am]
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